Mamas Pear Preserves Food

PEAR PRESERVES

Steps:

• Boil 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water together for 15 minutes.
• Add pears and sliced lemon and cook 15 minutes.
• Add remaining sugar and water and cook until pears are clear and transparent and syrup is thick.
• Pack into clean hot jars and seal at once.

GRANDMA'S PEAR PRESERVES

Steps:

• Sterilize jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Let simmer while making jam.
• In a large saucepan, combine pears, water, and lemon juice. Cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in pectin, and bring to a full boil. Stir in the white sugar, and continue boiling and stirring uncovered for 1 minute, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in brown sugar, allspice, and nutmeg.
• Quickly fill jars to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe rims clean, and top with lids. Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes to seal.

PEAR PRESERVES

Steps:

• In a stockpot, combine pears, sugar, water and lemon juice; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until mixture reaches a thick, spreadable consistency. , Remove from heat. Ladle hot mixture into seven hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight., Place jars into canner, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

OLD-FASHIONED PEAR PRESERVES

Steps:

• Day 1:.
• Peel and core pears. Slice or dice into pieces of desired size.
• Place pears in a large bowl and add an equal amount of sugar by weight (e.g. 4 lbs of pears = 4 lbs of sugar) Add juice of one lemon. Zest is optional, but adds a nice flavor. Stir gently to distribute sugar. Leave in refrigerator overnight. Stir several times to coat fruit with syrup.
• Day 2:.
• Place pears and syrup in a large pot. Bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook an additional 15-20 minutes until pears are translucent and candied. Turn off heat and leave pears in syrup overnight (no need to refrigerate). Place a clean dish towel under pot lid to prevent condensation.
• Day 3:.
• Remove pears from syrup, straining all syrup back into the pot. Bring syrup to a boil and cook to desired thickness (usually around 220 degrees). Test doneness by dropping syrup onto a frozen plate. It should gel almost immediately. When ready add pears back to syrup and remove from heat. Stir gently for approximately 10 minutes as preserves cool. This will keep the fruit distributed in the syrup and prevent it floating to the top of your jars.
• Place preserves in sterilized jars leaving 1/2 inch of head space. If packing hot jars, process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes. For cold jars, process 10 minutes.
• Leave jars undisturbed for 24 hours to cool and set. Enjoy!

PEAR PRESERVES

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the pears and decrease the heat to low. Simmer until the pears are tender and transparent, an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a rack to cool. Cover and let rest overnight in a cool place, up to 24 hours.
• Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Sterilize five 1-pint canning jars and lids in boiling water, following the manufacturer's instructions (or see Boiling-Water Canning, page 279). Remove the jars from the water and place upside down to drain on the prepared rack. Remove the lids from the water and dry with a clean towel. Turn the sterilized jars right side up on the rack, using tongs or a kitchen towel to protect your hands. When they are cool enough to handle, dry them with a clean towel. Set aside.
• Remove the pears from the syrup. Fill the hot jars according to the procedure for Raspberry Jam (page 289), and pour over the hot syrup, leaving 1/4 inch of headroom. Process the jars in a boiling-water canner for 20 minutes. Store the unopened jars at room temperature for up to 1 year. Once the jars are opened, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
• variation
• For refrigerator preserves, skip the boiling-water canner and refrigerate for up to 1 month.